Beware MAC Users; A New Crypto Malware Is in Town

Wilfred Michael

Reporter

01 February 2019,

14:07

‘Malware’ is not a new word to internet users and of course crypto traders. Over $1.7 billion was stolen via illegal means within the crypto industry in 2018, and the people behind these crimes have not had their fill yet.

According to a recent report by cybersecurity firm, Palo Alto, hackers have created a new malware dubbed CookieMiner with MAC users the primary targets. Although there is arguably no widely reported incident of the malware, the report disclosed how the illegal hacker tool steals user data.

CookieMiner Important Facts

The Malware is an upgrade to OSX.DarthMiner.

The malware targets user accounts registered on cryptocurrency exchanges mainly those on “Binance, Coinbase, Poloniex, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MyEtherWallet, and any website having “blockchain” in its domain name such as www.blockchain[.]com.”

The goal is to combine collected user data to break into their account on exchanges without security systems detecting any abnormal behavior.

The malware could also be used to donate power to cryptocurrency mining pools without the knowledge of the MAC user. The study revealed that a particular crypto wallet address was used to mine Koto, a Z-cash based cryptocurrency.

Cryptocurrency users who run a MAC operating system can stay safe by always monitoring their security settings on any crypto exchange they use.

In a similar report last week, Stmarket.co revealed that Europol arrested a U.K resident who is a prime suspect of an $11 million IOTA token theft in 2018.

However, the suspect did not use malware. Instead, he created a fake website which looked as if it helped users generate an IOTA private 81-digit key. On the background, he collected the generated private keys and used it to steal funds stored in the user wallets.

The missing IOTA tokens were reportedly recovered earlier this week and are in the custody of European authorities.

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